Migrating a WordPress may seem like a complex task, and in a way it is. Whether you come from another provider and want to bring your WordPress to SW Hosting, because you have hired a more powerful Cloud, or for any other reason, we will help you to perform the migration in a simple way.
In this manual we cover the migration process with the "All-in-One WP Migration" plugin that will be in charge of generating a single ".wpress" file with all the data of your WordPress website: configuration, posts, plugins, themes, database, etc.
You can then import this file to any other WordPress website.
We start by installing the plugin on the source WordPress, from which we are going to perform the migration:
Access the Wordpress administration panel. Usually, this is located in the "wp-admin" directory, for example:
In the left menu, click on Plugins > Add new and in the search field, enter "all in one wp migration":
Click on the Install Now button of the All-in-One WP Migration plugin and once installed, click on the Activate button that appears in the same place.
Access the Wordpress administration panel. This is usually located in the "wp-admin" directory, for example:
In the left menu, go to All-in-One WP Migration > Export:
Click on Export to > File. All your WordPress data will be compiled into a single file.
If you wish, you can open the Advanced options drop-down and exclude the data you consider, thus reducing the size of the resulting file.
Caution! Some of these options may result in an incomplete migration.
Once the export is finished, click on Download to get the resulting file. This file will be downloaded to your computer and will be the one you will import into the target WordPress.
You have already exported your WordPress in a single ".wpress" file. Now it's time to import it to the destination:
If your domain already points to the new server where you will import your WordPress, you can skip this point. Otherwise, in order to be able to access the new WordPress, we will make the domain on our computer point to the IP of the new server:
C:\Windows\System32\drivers\etc\hosts
81.25.123.45 miwordpress.com
Save the file. When you access "miwordpress.com", you will access it through the IP you have specified in the file, instead of the one the domain actually points to. These changes only affect the computer you are using. For your domain to point to the new server for real, you will have to modify the nameserver (DNS servers) of the domain.
Remember that you will have to delete this new line that you have just added.
At destination you must also install the plugin, follow the steps indicated in the first section of this manual.
Once the plugin is installed, go to All-in-One WP Migration > Import in the left menu:
Click on Import from > File and locate on your computer the ".wpress" file, downloaded earlier during the export process. Once selected, the file will be sent to the server. This may take several minutes depending on the size of the file and your connection speed.
A warning will appear indicating that the new WordPress is going to be replaced by the content of the file we are importing. Click Proceed:
If everything went well, the next one will appear:
Click Save permalink structure. The following configuration page will open:
Review the settings and click Save Changes.
Click Save changes a second time to save the settings and have WordPress internally regenerate the ".htaccess" file.
Finally, click Finish:
Congratulations! You have migrated your WordPress website.
Remember to delete the line you added earlier in the "hosts" file and modify the nameserver (DNS servers) of your domain to point to the new server.
